Just days after being handed a death sentence for war crimes in Bangladesh, a Muslim community leader living in Britain has told Sky News he is a victim of an unlawful tribunal targeting innocent people.

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, who lives in London, was found guilty of carrying out the abduction and execution of 18 intellectuals - nine university teachers, six journalists, and three physicians - during the 1971 war of independence in Bangladesh.

On Sunday, the Bangladeshi government sentenced him in his absence for the killings in December 1971.

Mr Mueen-Uddin told Sky News the war crimes tribunal targeted him and others who did nothing wrong.

"It is not only me," he said, speaking from his lawyers' offices in London. "They are targeting innocent people. The respected religious scholar of the country is facing death sentence in this farcical tribunal."

Mr Mueen-Uddin fled his home country of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) at the end of the war of independence which saw it split from Pakistan.

He said he was an outspoken campaigner for the unification of Pakistan but was only involved in a peaceful, political way.

When asked if he was guilty of the crimes, he said: "Not at all. In fact I was not a member of any paramilitary or militia organisations. I was a supporter of the unity of Pakistan - that is of course clear. But that was political support only."

In the 40 years he has been in Britain, Mr Mueen-Uddin has set up and worked for various charitable organisations.

Mr Mueen-Uddin pictured with Prince Charles in Leicestershire in 2003

He is credited with setting up the Muslim Council of Britain and hosted the Prince of Wales at the Islamic Foundation in 2003.

As well as Mr Mueen-Uddin and his legal team, others have called into question the judicial process of the war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh, which has been ongoing since 2010.

Liberal Democrat Lord Alex Carlile has written a letter to Foreign Secretary William Hague outlining his concerns about the legal process.

He describes Mr Mueen-Uddin's trial as "grossly improper", saying that "there is other evidence that the Bangladeshis are circumventing fair trial procedures ... over 150 soldiers were sentenced to death this week for offences which were not tried in a fair way".

The view in Bangladesh amongst the press and majority of the public is that Mr Mueen-Uddin has been given a just sentence. Cheers rang out around the courthouse when the verdict was delivered.

Bangladesh-based journalist David Bergman, who has reported on the war crimes case for more than 10 years, said the tribunal has been front page news in the country.

He said that Mr Mueen-Uddin "is criticising this particular tribunal and he may well have legitimate reasons for that, but I don't think that takes away from the fact that there is substantial, significant evidence in the form of affidavits, eyewitness testimony and other evidence".

Mr Mueen-Uddin is credited with setting up the Muslim Council of Britain

Mr Mueen-Uddin has said he is innocent and has no idea how his name has kept coming up over the decades.

"It is a mystery to me ... not only was I not involved in any military actions, I was also very critical of the atrocities at the time."

The tribunal has now convicted 10 people, mostly leaders of the country's largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, for war crimes, with seven of them sentenced to death by hanging. At least another eight are on trial.

The trials have sparked protests throughout the Muslim-majority country, leaving at least 150 people dead since January when the court started handing down their verdicts.

Jamaat-e-Islami claims the trials are politically motivated and accuses the secular government of trying to execute its entire leadership.

The government says the trials are needed to heal the wounds of the conflict.